Towns across southern Jaen were left counting the cost on Friday after an extraordinary deluge of rain and hail transformed streets into rivers, moved cars and flooded homes.

Some 55 litres of rain fell in Cambil in around an hour, according to mayor Jose Maria Guzman, who said the town had not experienced anything comparable for around two decades.

‘It’s been years since this happened, perhaps since 2006,’ he told local newspaper Jaen Hoy.

Cambil was among the areas worst affected by the summer storm, alongside Campillo de Arenas and Huelma, where residents were caught off guard despite an Aemet yellow weather warning.

Dramatic footage showed thick, muddy torrents surging through Cambil’s streets, carrying debris and street furniture with them.

Some vehicles were also shifted by the force of the water, while in the worst affected areas the floodwater reportedly rose as high as car windows.

‘It was a matter of an hour,’ Guzman said. ‘Around 55 litres fell and Calle Arena and Alamos were flooded with earth.

‘Some streets were flowing like a river. One of the cars ended up sideways and the water reached the windows of some vehicles.’

Between eight and 10 ground-floor properties were affected by flooding in Cambil, although there were no reported injuries.

Municipal machinery was deployed to clear enormous quantities of mud and debris left behind once the water subsided.

‘I’ve never seen hail like it’

Nearby Campillo de Arenas was battered by both torrential rain and unusually large hailstones.

Mayor Juan Francisco Figueroa said the hail was the size of marbles and in some cases even larger.

‘I don’t remember a hailstorm like this,’ he said.

The sheer quantity of hail also compounded the flooding by blocking drains, while the town’s sewer network was overwhelmed by the enormous volume of water arriving in such a short period.

‘The sewage network couldn’t cope and didn’t have sufficient capacity,’ Figueroa explained.

‘It was impossible to absorb all the water that was falling. The manhole covers lifted and the water was practically flowing down the streets.’

Water entered the ground floors of several properties, in some cases after hail blocked drainage outlets in patios.

The storm began at around 4.30pm and continued until approximately 6.30pm, with gardens and other public areas also suffering damage.

Residents cut off in Huelma

The neighbouring municipality of Huelma and Solera also experienced serious disruption.

At around 4.15pm, water overwhelmed a bridge at the entrance to Las Cabritas, leaving residents of isolated rural properties temporarily cut off.

Heavy machinery was sent to the area to intervene at the bridge, while several landslides and localised floods were also reported.

Some residents were forced to remove water from their homes using buckets and shovels.

Local Police responded to incidents across the municipality, although conditions later eased significantly.

Despite the dramatic scenes across all three towns, no injuries were reported.

For Cambil, however, Thursday’s deluge was a reminder of much more destructive episodes from its past.

Guzman said the town suffered a major storm in 1949, while smaller floods have occasionally been caused by the river running through the municipality.

But an event on the scale witnessed on Thursday, he said, had not occurred for around 20 years.